Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

When the rain reins in all hopes of fishing: PAWS

Going into the Labor Day weekend, I regret to announce I am suffering from PAWS.

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, that is.

Owing to an unfortunate concatenation of events — namely, the weather — I have not wet a line in two weeks.

So while I am past the trembling, the hot flashes and cold shivering, the hallucinations and the uncontrollable sweating, I am listless, irritable and nihilistic.

Grumpy, too.

The good news is the fact that it was 58 degrees in Lakeville this morning, Sept. 2. One thing we can count on around here: Right around Labor Day, things cool off.

It is important to remember that trout do not do well at water temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit. My personal feeling is anything over 66 is out of bounds, but I am hidebound and reactionary. 

Why is this? The short version: The higher the water temperature, the lower the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. 

It’s not that they can’t survive the higher temps. They can and do. 

It’s that if you catch them, even if you play them fast and get them back in the water with the absolute minimum of handling, they are very likely to die when they have trouble doing basic things, like breathing.

Keeping all this in mind, here is the fall 2021 plan:

The Housatonic 

The river has been unusually high this summer, and that means the trout have had more and better options for making it through the high water temperatures. It’s flowing at a hearty 5,800 cfs this morning (Sept. 2), but when things calm down in a week or two (emphasis on the latter), there will be a lot of trout coming out of the doldrums and looking for dinner. That’s in addition to the smallmouth bass.

The Farmington

A weird year on this river as well, notably in the lack of cold water coming out of the dam above Riverton. That unhappy situation will begin to revert to normal as air temperatures drop. My best guess is around the third week of September we will see a significant improvement in Farmington water temperatures, and be back in business.

Little blue lines

If you don’t have a water thermometer, get one. Last week, I was confronted with the unbelievably exasperating fact that one of my main small streams had plenty of nice clear water coursing through. Never mind fishing — I just wanted to sit in it. It would have been quite pleasant, too, as my thermometer revealed the water was between 76 and 80 degrees. Now, that was in a bottom reach, exposed to more sunlight than the mountainous areas upstream. But still.

But I’ll keep an eye on the small streams and wait for the moment when the trend is reversed.

Exploration

After being humbled by the East Branch of the Delaware River (in New York)  a few weeks back, I feel there is unfinished business there. And I am going to finish it. But next time I am going to go with someone who knows it, to minimize the floundering.

Chesterfield Gorge, East Branch, Westfield River (Mass.)

I’ve been reading about this for years, and this could be the time to go check it out. Plus there’s a tailwater section below the Knightsbridge dam, wherever that is.

That’s the general plan. Which is, of course, subject to sudden change. 

But I feel much better just thinking about it.

Latest News

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notices - July 9, 2026

Legal Notice

BOND RESOLUTION DATED JUNE 15, 2026 OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE WEBUTUCK CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AUTHORIZING NOT TO EXCEED $429,327 AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND/OR INSTALLMENT PURCHASE CONTRACTS TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION OF A SCHOOL BUSES AND VEHICLES AT AN AGGREGATE ESTIMATED MAXIMUM COST OF$429,327, LEVY OF TAX IN ANNUAL INSTALLMENTS IN PAYMENT THEREOF TAKING INTO ACCOUNT STATE-AID, THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH SUM FOR SUCH PURPOSE, AND DETERMINING OTHER MATTERS IN CONNECTION THERE-WITH.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tenmile Distillery is making history the old-fashioned way

Cheers! The Revolutionary Whisky Series at Ten Mile Distillery, each named for a significant battle of the American Revolution, celebrates America at 250.

D.H. Callahan

In December 2024, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially established the Standard of Identity for American Single Malt Whisky. It was the first new classification in more than half a century, creating new possibilities for American distillers. One of the distilleries taking advantage of this new landscape is Wassaic’s Tenmile Distillery. It is well positioned to make history because Tenmile has always honored traditional whiskey-making practices.

Single malts are often associated with Scotch whisky. Perhaps that’s why, years before the new standard was adopted, Tenmile hired Shane Fraser, a Scottish master distiller with 30 years of experience at some of Scotland’s most prestigious distilleries. Fraser began designing the distillery from the ground up. Alongside owner and general manager Joel LeVangia, he emphasized time-honored traditions, favoring hands-on craftsmanship over the increasingly automated methods used by larger producers. When it comes to making the best whisky possible, Tenmile believes in learning from the past. That philosophy extends beyond the distilling process.

Keep ReadingShow less

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

The magic of Belinda Sinclair

Belinda Sinclair

Dean Chamberlain
Sinclair’s show explores the ways women have been practicing forms of magic for centuries, and there is plenty of history to tell.

Belinda Sinclair is the kind of magician who impresses people who don’t like magic. Her tricks are mind-boggling. Her stories are captivating. And if she picks you to write your name on a card, get ready to be wowed. Repeat attendees of her shows, of which there are many, take almost as much delight in watching new jaws drop as they do in seeing an illusion reach its astonishing conclusion.

Since the summer of 2025, Sinclair has been baffling local audiences at the Hughes Memorial Library in West Cornwall, but her magical run comes to a close at the end of August.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

“Nixon in China” comes to Tanglewood

Renée Fleming, Andris Nelsons and Thomas Hampson.

Hilary Scott

On Friday, July 17 at 8 p.m. in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood, two of the greatest American voices of their generation, soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Thomas Hampson, join Music Director Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a performance of excerpts from John Adams’ groundbreaking opera “Nixon in China.” The piece, performed earlier this year in Boston and at Carnegie Hall in New York City, is a highlight of a program that also includes “Meditations on Grace” (2024) by BSO Composer Chair Carlos Simon, and the melodic and technically demanding Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber.

Fleming is internationally celebrated for her vocal and dramatic artistry, as well as for her advocacy for the powerful impact of the creative arts in health. Hampson has long been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians of our time and has received countless international honors for his singular artistry and cultural leadership. Both performed in “Nixon in China” earlier this year at the Paris Opera under the baton of Kent Nagano.

Keep ReadingShow less
Local playwright revisits Revolutionary moment in “Rebel Town”

The cast and crew of “Rebeltown: The Musical.”

Jack Sheedy

John Alan Segalla was working in Boston a few years ago, giving historic tours at the site of the Boston Tea Party. Now, as America celebrates 250 years as a nation, the Canaan native is about to debut a new version of his original musical, “Rebel Town,” inspired largely by the Boston Tea Party, the protest that helped launch the American Revolution.

“It wasn’t until I got to Boston and learned the Tea Party story that I fell in love with this moment in history, and I saw the story as wildly compelling and very important, and really a story that was very misunderstood, mistaught in schools,” Segalla said at a recent rehearsal in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, ahead of the show’s July 10 opening.

Keep ReadingShow less
An invitation to paint a community mural in Torrington

Community mural design by Macayla Muzzulin will be painted by volunteers on July 11 in Franklin Plaza in Torrington.

Provided

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, Five Points Arts in Torrington will host a community mural project celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. Volunteers of every age and artistic ability are invited to help paint a 20-by-6-foot mural designed by artist Macayla Muzzulin. The mural will be completed in one day, transformed from a numbered outline into a permanent public artwork along the river in downtown Torrington.

“We firmly believe art is for everyone,” said Five Points founder and executive director, Judith McElhone. “It’s so great to be able to do this with such talent, and with Launchpad artists, volunteers and staff there to help.”

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.